Research In Motion Ltd (BBRY) Increases BB10 Builds: Jefferies

Despite rumors that Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB)’s BB10 devices are getting a lukewarm response, the company has increased its monthly build of new devices that run on BB10 operating system, Jefferies said in its latest research report. Peter Mlsek of Jefferies said his checks in Asia indicate that the production of Q10 devices have kicked into high gear, thus improving the overall BB10 device builds to over 2 million per month.

That gives further confidence to Jefferies, whose estimates for the company’s May quarter and August quarter performance are higher than Wall Street estimates. Jefferies expects Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) to report $4.1 billion in revenues and 50 cents in earnings in the May quarter, compared to the Street estimate of $3.4 billion revenues with 3 cents in earnings. For August quarter, Jefferies expects $3.9 billion sales and 37 cents in earnings, better than Wall Street consensus of $3.3 billion and 11 cents.

Peter Mlsek said his checks suggest that the Z10 maker plans to launch 2-3 more devices in the latter half of this year. One of them is estimated to be a mid-range keyboard device priced at around $400, another a mid-range touch screen, and the third one would be a 5-inch Z10-like device.

Jefferies analysts found during their trip to Asia, that the tone and atmosphere for BlackBerry in Singapore, China and Hong Kong were far better than what they had expected. Indonesia is already one of the strongest markets for Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB). Analysts said that the company’s overall sales are steady, and Q10 pre-sales are expected to be much stronger.

Coming to a serious matter that drove Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) stock down a few days ago, Jefferies said that the Z10 return rates in the United States were normal. It contradicts with allegations that Z10 return rates exceeded sales which caused the shares to fall about 6 percent within a day.

Analysts also talked to some of the people who returned Z10 devices to know the reason. Customers said they thought Z10 had a physical keyboard, which it doesn’t have. So, those customers will buy Q10 upon launch.

Jefferies maintains its Buy rating on the stock with $22 price target. Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) shares were up 2.33 percent to $14.03 at 11:42 AM EDT.